“Are you going abroad second semester?” A question most juniors in college get when talking to someone about their future academics. I have an older brother who’s a senior here at Penn State, and an older sister who graduated from Hamilton College (a very small liberal arts school in New York), and they both got those questions pretty frequently. Instead of taking the usual path of going abroad second semester junior year, my older sister decided to do a short-summer abroad in Australia. I’ve never been to Australia, and basically the only thing I think about when someone says Australia are the kangaroos. And, obviously, “P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney” (a quote from my favorite animated movie, Finding Nemo).
One of my sister’s favorite part of Australia was hanging out with the kangaroos (and other animals like snakes and koalas). She got to feed them and take pictures with them – something you obviously don’t get to do everyday. The Taronga Zoo houses many of Australia’s animals if you’re ever around!
Speaking of kangaroo.. (if you’re a vegetarian or vegan because of your love for animals, skip this part!) she actually tried kangaroo, and another animal named a wallaby – similar to a kangaroo. Better than she thought, they tasted kind of like a nice steak, except the kangaroo was a bit gamier. Something different she noticed from the US was that there were baked beans at almost every breakfast she had, but it wasn’t weird and was considered the norm – probably just a European thing.
Her other favorite part of Australia was snorkeling in the Great Barrier reef. (Side note: if you’ve been following social media like Facebook, you probably read all the articles a few weeks ago about how the Great Barrier Reef ‘died.’ In reality, it actually didn’t completely die but is in the process of drastic coral bleaching – which could eventually lead to its degradation.) My sister explained that she “was basically in a scene from Finding Nemo.” (Another side note: me and my sisters make frequent references to our favorite movies, Finding Nemo being one of them.) Despite the pictures, it’s truly something you have to see in person to really experience. So, if you’re ever in Australia, put snorkeling in the Great Barrier reef at the top of the ‘Australian bucket list.’
Certainly do take advantage of the city. One of my sister’s biggest regrets after leaving Australia was that she hadn’t explored the city enough. Any city looks completely different during the day than it does during night, and there’s definitely a different scene at night. If you’re of legal drinking age (it’s 18 in Australia, wink) head to the bars! The night-life is similar to that in America, but still so much fun. At a bar in one of the hostels she stayed at, there was something called “jelly fighting” – in this case, jelly meant jello. Basically, two girls would fight each other in a baby pool of jello – which believe it or not can be more entertaining than you’d think.